Bradley, others impress at pro day

James Hale

03/10/2005

Oklahoma receiver Mark Bradley (pictured above) impressed the NFL scouts with the fastest 40-yard dash time of the day and catching everything thrown his direction. See inside for an in-depth report, including stats and results on every Sooner that participated in pro day in Norman. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

There were some impressive performances turned in today by several Sooner seniors and graduates, and there were also a couple that a player or two will need to make up for in individual workouts.

In all, it was a great day for Mark Bradley, who was the buzz of the combine. He tested well in all the drills and then caught everything in sight. The fact he is a great special teams player and can do so many things on a football field is something that is appealing to the scouts as well. Bradley was a solid second-round guy going into the workout and may have moved into the late first round with a great workout today.

Dan Cody did OK in the testing, but it didn't seem to matter much with the scouts. They love his ability and what he does on the field. From what I can gather, Cody is going within the top 12 picks of the draft as teams look at him both as a defensive end or outside linebacker. I think he will go to a team that is playing a 3-4 defense.

Jonathan Jackson performed well today and showed the scouts that he can make the transition to LB. JJ did not get invited to the combine, thus today was his only day to impress, and he did just that.

Jason White posted about the same results in the drills that he did at the combine, but the fact he did them again with no problems was a great sight for the scouts. He threw the ball well despite the fact they changed some depths on some of his routes from what he was used to. On dig routes, White has been throwing them 16 yards for years at OU, but the pros crossed him up and made him throw them 20 yards. This tested his arm strength and he threw it well. All told, he threw 45 balls or so and only had one or two missed throws. He handled the adversity well.

Mark Clayton didn't test, but he did catch some balls and looked good. Brandon Jones tested pretty well and did looked good catching balls. He dropped a couple, but they were passes a little behind him.

It was a good day for Lynn McGruder. Lynn is a very athletic player at 303 pounds and the scouts like what he showed them today. He was working hard and don't be surprised if he is not a first-day draft.

The scouts love Jammal Brown, and from what I gathered today he is definitely going in the first round. They also like Wes Sims as a prospect, and many of the scouts feel he is a solid guy who has a chance to be a good player.

Vince Carter struggled in the drills and it looked like his knees bothered him. Carter did not go to the combine and he wasn't that impressive today. However, the scouts also watch film, and Carter is a four-year starter. He still has a chance to get into the final couple of rounds of the draft.

Don't be alarmed that Lance Mitchell didn't put up spectacular numbers during the drills. Everybody that knows anything about Mitchell knew that would happen. When they went through football drills he was outstanding. Mitchell is a football player and the scouts note that. He is going to land somewhere in the middle rounds.

Brodney Pool turned some heads. He was having a good time and always had a smile on his face. He posted good numbers and looked good in drills. Both Pool and Nicholson are expected to go in the top three rounds, with Pool possibly in the first, and both are expected to stick in the league.

Kansas City Chief General Manager and President Carl Peterson, Coach Dick Vermeil and the Chiefs Director of College Scouting were in attendance. In talking to Mr. Peterson, it is apparent that they really like Pool and hope he is available when they pick either in the first or second round. They were mad that he and Nicholson didn't workout at the combine, but both were impressive enough to make up for it.

Donte Nicholson had a very good day and once again proved he is a very solid player at a high level. He was really good in the defensive back drills drills.

Pasha Jackson put up solid numbers and he was outstanding in the linebackers drills. He impressed some scouts in the drills enough that some team will sign him as a free agent. Jackson ran and moved well.

There is no question that Antonio Perkins is hurting. His right hamstring was been bothering him at the combine and at pro day. He has not run under 4.5 yet in the 40 and he asked for additional run today in the forty. He got off to a good start, but pulled up with a tight hamstring. That kept him from going through the defensive back drills, so Perk he will have to set up some kind of individuals drills in the future to post some good times to get drafted where he would like. Right now he is a lower round player.

Tommie Harris is a great Sooner. He is always around the current guys and he is always pulling for his former teammates. He was rooting hard for them. Stephen Alexander was at the workout and looked great. He has re-signed with Detroit.

Former OU Head Coach Gary Gibbs was there as well the linebacker coach for the Dallas Cowboys. He couldn't talk to the media because Dallas Head Coach Bill Parcells has a gag order on all his coaches from speaking with the media. You will only hear his opinions out of Dallas. I wonder what all those grown men think about that.

Former OU defensive coordinator and current Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Rex Ryan was in attendance. I pointed out AD for him and he couldn't believe how big he was. He gabbed three of his friends and said, "Hey, that is OU's tailback. Can you believe that big cat is OU's tailback?"

I then pointed out that he ran a 10.3 100-meters in a track meet in high school and he gathered his buddies again and said, "Hey, OU's tailback, you know the big guy over there in the red shirt — ran a 10.3 100-meters in high school. Man, I hope we can get him when he comes out."

At that time his buddy looked at him and said Rex you don't watch much college football do you? We have two years from now to draft him, because he will be the first player taken in the 2007 draft. Rex laughed and said, "Oh, he is that good, huh?"

He pointed out to me that the talent level was a little better now than when he was coaching at OU and then laughed.

Dusty Dvoracek was in attendance and having a great time. If it wasn't for his problems and mistakes he would have been a big part of this pro day. As it was, he was rooting for his teammates, and it was interesting to watch the younger players on the varsity follow him around.

'DD' says his workouts are going great and he has stepped right back into the program. Don't be surprised if he is not named team captain again. He looked in good shape and says he weighed 292 pounds.